Nitrations of aromatic compounds, such as benzene and substituted benzene derivatives, are well known in the art. Typically, a conventional nitration reaction requires a solid catalyst, such as claycop (see Gigante et al., JOC, 1995, 60, 3445-3447), or relatively expensive reagent(s) such as the ionic liquid ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) (see Gopalakrishnan et al., JOC, 2011, 76, 8088-8094), or require relatively harsh conditions, e.g., sulfuric acid solvent. Unfortunately, most, if not all, conventional methods require rather expensive and/or labor intensive processes to obtain a relatively pure nitroaromatic compound.
Therefore, there is a continuing need for cost effective, simple and facile processes for nitrating aromatic compounds.